Wild have their fingers crossed on Mikko Koivu's injury

Wild center Mikko Koivu was scheduled to be re-evaluated in St. Paul on Sunday after leaving Saturday's game against St. Louis in the first period because of an upper-body injury.

And although the team didn't release an update on the captain's condition, the Wild were hoping for the best, even as they were preparing for the possibility that they could be without Koivu for a while.

If the all-star center - who looked to be nursing his shoulder as he left the ice - is out for any extended length of time, it would be a major blow to an offense that already has to grind out most of the goals it gets.

The Wild scored twice in Saturday night's 3-2 shootout loss with the kind of greasy goals they got earlier in the season, and coach Mike Yeo was as happy with the effort as he's been in several weeks.

The Wild might have rediscovered the blueprint for how they need to score goals in that game, but the question is, can they repeat it in every game?

Minnesota already is without forwards Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Guillaume Latendresse because of concussion symptoms, and the loss of Koivu, the team's leading scorer, would further reduce its margin for error and the number of ways it can win.

The Wild's most disappointing efforts during their 2-9-4 stretch have come when they got away from their scrappy approach. Now, they might be beholden to it, especially if Koivu is out.

"That's what we need to do," Yeo said. "I believe in the character of that room. I believe there's a big difference between wanting something and needing something.

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I believe this is a group that feels we really need that (level of effort consistently), and they're ready to do it."